On March 2, a military force affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by former President Jalal Talabani seized the North Oil Company in Kirkuk province. The military force said the move was a warning for Baghdad to stop the export of the city's oil to other cities and to start establishing a refinery in the city. The military force halted the export of oil for a brief period.

This event is linked to an agreement concluded Aug. 19, 2016, between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The agreement said that 150,000 barrels of oil will be equally exported from Baghdad and Erbil and that the proceeds will be shared. The agreement said that the KRG will export its oil through the Kurdistan pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan and will refine the oil through its Kar Oil Company.